updated 03:40 am EST, Sat February 4, 2012

iTunes Match on computers faces odd glitch

iTunes Match subscribers late Friday reported a problem with iTunes Match playback failing. Anyone on a desktop, whether Mac or Windows, couldn't play cloud-stored songs unless they were already matched with the iTunes Store. The problems didn't appear to be limited to particular app or OS revisions, and iOS users could still access the service.

Apple didn't immediately respond with an explanation for the problem.

Some very early reports from users in Apple's support forums mention that the service might have returned. One ad hoc solution was to recreate the library file, although this is strongly discouraged since it could risk losing much of the metadata, like ratings, as well as force a recreation of the local song collection.

iTunes Match has largely worked smoothly since launch. The new incident nonetheless exposes possible issues as iTunes Match reaches other countries and as the listener base swells. [viaThe Verge]

Re: Hyperbolic much?

There was nothing in the article to indicate that users would lose ANYTHING, not to mention that they have the ultimate backup on their own machine.

But it (a) points out the problem with the cloud where a blip can cause real issues, (b) you assume people have their data on their own machine (as more and more move into the cloud, the cloud becomes your 'storage', especially since Apple even touts that you don't need to have it on your machines.

Oh, and (c) it's people like you who allow such stupid issues to happen without fear or penalty. You say nothing was lost. That's the only good part of this story. It's like telling someone "Oh, sure, that OS X update hosed your computer. But just do a full install and all will be fine. What? Should you start to worry and do backups? Nah, why, nothing was lost."

This is the perfect reason why people should be told and realize why their computer should be the primary source, and that they have their own backup solution (preferably off-site).

BTW, this is also the reason why one should investigate the terms and conditions of the online service they're using. For my guess is Apple has nice disclaimers that read along the lines of "We may hose all your data. But we're not at fault!"

Your post comes across like grumpy-old-man-suspicious-of-new-tech. Nobody, particularly not Apple users, are storing "all their data" in the cloud. You're being ridiculous.

Um, not yet. But they're starting to. And that's where Apple wants them to store it. If it's in the cloud, you don't need local copies, you know! And if all you have is an iPad, say, then all your content is cloud-based and that's it.